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Article 100 - NY Criminal Procedure Law

• NY Laws ›
• CPL ›
• Part 2 ›
• Title H ›
• Article 100

S 100.05 Commencement of action; in general.
  A criminal action is commenced by the filing of an accusatory
instrument with a criminal court, and if more than one such instrument
is filed in the course of the same criminal action, such action
commences when the first of such instruments is filed.  The only way in
which a criminal action can be commenced in a superior court is by the
filing therewith by a grand jury of an indictment against a defendant
who has never been held by a local criminal court for the action of such
grand jury with respect to any charge contained in such indictment.
Otherwise, a criminal action can be commenced only in a local criminal
court, by the filing therewith of a local criminal court accusatory
instrument, namely:
  1.  An information; or
  2.  A simplified information; or
  3.  A prosecutor`s information; or
  4.  A misdemeanor complaint; or
  5.  A felony complaint.

S 100.07 Commencement of action; effect of family court proceeding.
  A criminal court shall have concurrent jurisdiction over cognizable
family offenses, as defined in subdivision one of section 530.11 of this
chapter and in subdivision one of section eight hundred twelve of the
family court act, notwithstanding the fact that a family court has or
may be exercising jurisdiction over a petition under article eight of
the family court act containing substantially the same allegations as
are set forth in the accusatory instrument or indictment.

S 100.10 Local criminal court accusatory instruments; definitions thereof.
  1.  An "information" is a verified written accusation by a person,
filed with a local criminal court, charging one or more other persons
with the commission of one or more offenses, none of which is a felony.
It may serve as a basis both for the commencement of a criminal action
and for the prosecution thereof in a local criminal court.
  2.  (a) A "simplified traffic information" is a written accusation by
a police officer, or other public servant authorized by law to issue
same, filed with a local criminal court, which charges a person with the
commission of one or more traffic infractions and/or misdemeanors
relating to traffic, and which, being in a brief or simplified form
prescribed by the commissioner of motor vehicles, designates the offense
or offenses charged but contains no factual allegations of an
evidentiary nature supporting such charge or charges.  It serves as a
basis for commencement of a criminal action for such traffic offenses,
alternative to the charging thereof by a regular information, and, under
circumstances prescribed in section 100.25, it may serve, either in
whole or in part, as a basis for prosecution of such charges.
  (b)  A "simplified parks information" is a written accusation by a
police officer or other public servant authorized by law to issue same,
filed with a local criminal court, which charges a person with the
commission of one or more offenses, other than a felony, for which a
uniform simplified parks information may be issued pursuant to the parks
and recreation law and navigation law, and which being in a brief or
simplified form prescribed by the commissioner of parks and recreation,
designates the offense or offenses charged but contains no factual
allegations of an evidentiary nature supporting such charge or charges.
It serves as a basis for commencement of a criminal action for such
offenses, alternative to the charging thereof by a regular information,
and, under circumstances parescribed in section 100.25, it may serve,
either in whole or in part, as a basis for prosecution of such charges.
  (c)  A "simplified environmental conservation information" is a
written accusation by a police officer or other public servant
authorized by law to issue same, filed with a local criminal court,
which charges a person with the commission of one or more offenses,
other than a felony, for which a uniform simplified environmental
conservation information may be issued pursuant to the environmental
conservation law, and which being in a brief or simplified form
prescribed by the commissioner of environmental conservation, designates
the offense or offenses charged but contains no factual allegations of
an evidentiary nature supporting such charge or charges.  It serves as a
basis for commencement of a criminal action for such offenses,
alternative to the charging thereof by a regular information, and, under
circumstances prescribed in section 100.25, it may serve, either in
whole or in part, as a basis for prosecution of such charges.
  3. A "prosecutor`s information" is a written accusation by a district
attorney, filed with a local criminal court, either (a) at the direction
of a grand jury pursuant to section 190.70, or (b) at the direction of a
local criminal court pursuant to section 180.50 or 180.70, or (c) at the
district attorney`s own instance pursuant to subdivision two of section
100.50, or (d) at the direction of a superior court pursuant to
subdivision one-a of section 210.20,  charging one or more persons with
the commission of one or more offenses, none of which is a felony.  It
serves as a basis for the prosecution of a criminal action, but it
commences a criminal action only where it results from a grand jury
direction issued in a case not previously commenced in a local criminal
court.
  4.  A "misdemeanor complaint" is a verified written accusation by a
person, filed with a local criminal court, charging one or more other
persons with the commission of one or more offenses, at least one of
which is a misdemeanor and none of which is a felony.  It serves as a
basis for the commencement of a criminal action, but it may serve as a
basis for prosecution thereof only where a defendant has waived
prosecution by information pursuant to subdivision three of section
170.65.
  5.  A "felony complaint" is a verified written accusation by a person,
filed with a local criminal court, charging one or more other persons
with the commission of one or more felonies.  It serves as a basis for
the commencement of a criminal action, but not as a basis for
prosecution thereof.

S 100.15 Information, misdemeanor complaint and felony complaint;
               form and content.
  1.  An information, a misdemeanor complaint and a felony complaint
must each specify the name of the court with which it is filed and the
title of the action, and must be subscribed and verified by a person
known as the "complainant."  The complainant may be any person having
knowledge, whether personal or upon information and belief, of the
commission of the offense or offenses charged.  Each instrument must
contain an accusatory part and a factual part.  The complainant`s
verification of the instrument is deemed to apply only to the factual
part thereof and not to the accusatory part.
  2.  The accusatory part of each such instrument must designate the
offense or offenses charged.  As in the case of an indictment, and
subject to the rules of joinder applicable to indictments, two or more
offenses may be charged in separate counts.  Also as in the case of an
indictment, such instrument may charge two or more defendants provided
that all such defendants are jointly charged with every offense alleged
therein.
  3.  The factual part of such instrument must contain a statement of
the complainant alleging facts of an evidentiary character supporting or
tending to support the charges.  Where more than one offense is charged,
the factual part should consist of a single factual account applicable
to all the counts of the accusatory part.  The factual allegations may
be based either upon personal knowledge of the complainant or upon
information and belief.  Nothing contained in this section, however,
limits or affects the requirement, prescribed in subdivision one of
section 100.40, that in order for an information or a count thereof to
be sufficient on its face, every element of the offense charged and the
defendant`s commission thereof must be supported by non-hearsay
allegations of such information and/or any supporting depositions.
  4.  Where a felony complaint charges a violent felony offense defined
in section 70.02 of the penal law and such offense is an armed felony as
defined in subdivision forty-one of section 1.20,
  (a)  the accusatory part of the instrument must designate the offense
as an armed felony, and (b) the factual part of the instrument must
allege facts of an evidentiary character supporting or tending to
support such designation.

S 100.20 Supporting deposition; definition, form and content.
  A supporting deposition is a written instrument accompanying or filed
in connection with an information, a simplified information, a
misdemeanor complaint or a felony complaint, subscribed and verified by
a person other than the complainant of such accusatory instrument, and
containing factual allegations of an evidentiary character, based either
upon personal knowledge or upon information and belief, which supplement
those of the accusatory instrument and support or tend to support the
charge or charges contained therein.

S 100.25 Simplified information; form and content; defendant`s right
               to supporting deposition; notice requirement.
  1. A simplified information must be substantially in the form
prescribed by the commissioner of motor vehicles, the commissioner of
parks and recreation, or the commissioner of environmental conservation,
as the case may be.
  2. A defendant charged by a simplified information is, upon a timely
request, entitled as a matter of right to have filed with the court and
served upon him, or if he is represented by an attorney, upon his
attorney, a supporting deposition of the complainant police officer or
public servant, containing allegations of fact, based either upon
personal knowledge or upon information and belief, providing reasonable
cause to believe that the defendant committed the offense or offenses
charged. To be timely, such a request must, except as otherwise provided
herein and in subdivision three of this section, be made before entry of
a plea of guilty to the charge specified and before commencement of a
trial thereon, but not later than thirty days after the date the
defendant is directed to appear in court as such date appears upon the
simplified information and upon the appearance ticket issued pursuant
thereto. If the defendant`s request is mailed to the court, the request
must be mailed within such thirty day period. Upon such a request, the
court must order the complainant police officer or public servant to
serve a copy of such supporting deposition upon the defendant or his
attorney, within thirty days of the date such request is received by the
court, or at least five days before trial, whichever is earlier, and to
file such supporting deposition with the court together with proof of
service thereof. Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, where a
defendant is issued an appearance ticket in conjunction with the offense
charged in the simplified information and the appearance ticket fails to
conform with the requirements of subdivision two of section 150.10, a
request is timely when made not later than thirty days after (a) entry
of the defendant`s plea of not guilty when he or she has been arraigned
in person, or (b) written notice to the defendant of his or her right to
receive a supporting deposition when a plea of not guilty has been
submitted by mail.
  3. When at least one of the offenses charged in a simplified
information is a misdemeanor, the court may, upon motion of the
defendant, for good cause shown and consistent with the interest of
justice, permit the defendant to request a supporting deposition beyond
the thirty day request period set forth in subdivision two of this
section provided, however, that no motion may be brought under this
subdivision after ninety days has elapsed from the date the defendant is
directed to appear in court as such date appears upon the simplified
information and upon the appearance ticket issued pursuant thereto.
  4. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, where a
person is charged by a simplified information and is served with an
appearance ticket as defined in section 150.10, such appearance ticket
shall contain the following language: "NOTICE: YOU ARE ENTITLED TO
RECEIVE A SUPPORTING DEPOSITION FURTHER EXPLAINING THE CHARGES PROVIDED
YOU REQUEST SUCH SUPPORTING DEPOSITION WITHIN THIRTY DAYS FROM THE DATE
YOU ARE DIRECTED TO APPEAR IN COURT AS SET FORTH ON THIS APPEARANCE
TICKET.  DO YOU REQUEST A SUPPORTING DEPOSITION?
{ } YES
{ } NO"

S 100.30 Information, misdemeanor complaint, felony complaint,
              supporting deposition and proof of service of supporting
              deposition; verification.
  1. An information, a misdemeanor complaint, a felony complaint, a
supporting deposition, and proof of service of a supporting deposition
may be verified in any of the following manners:
  (a) Such instrument may be sworn to before the court with which it is
filed.
  (b) Such instrument may be sworn to before a desk officer in charge at
a police station or police headquarters or any of his superior officers.
  (c) Where such instrument is filed by any public servant following the
issuance and service of an appearance ticket, and where by express
provision of law another designated public servant is authorized to
administer the oath with respect to such instrument, it may be sworn to
before such public servant.
  (d) Such instrument may bear a form notice that false statements made
therein are punishable as a class A misdemeanor pursuant to section
210.45 of the penal law, and such form notice together with the
subscription of the deponent constitute a verification of the
instrument.
  (e) Such instrument may be sworn to before a notary public.
  2. An instrument specified in subdivision one may be verified in any
manner prescribed therein unless in a particular case the court
expressly directs verification in a particular manner prescribed in said
subdivision one.

S 100.35 Prosecutor`s information; form and content.
  A prosecutor`s information must contain the name of the local criminal
court with which it is filed and the title of the action, and must be
subscribed by the district attorney by whom it is filed.  Otherwise it
should be in the form prescribed for an indictment, pursuant to section
200.50, and must, in one or more counts, allege the offense or offenses
charged and a plain and concise statement of the conduct constituting
each such offense.  The rules prescribed in sections 200.20 and 200.40
governing joinder of different offenses and defendants in a single
indictment are also applicable to a prosecutor`s information.

S 100.40 Local criminal court accusatory instruments; sufficiency on face.
  1. An information, or a count thereof, is sufficient on its face when:
  (a) It substantially conforms to the requirements prescribed in
section 100.15; and
  (b) The allegations of the factual part of the information, together
with those of any supporting depositions which may accompany it, provide
reasonable cause to believe that the defendant committed the offense
charged in the accusatory part of the information; and
  (c) Non-hearsay allegations of the factual part of the information
and/or of any supporting depositions establish, if true, every element
of the offense charged and the defendant`s commission thereof.
  2. A simplified information is sufficient on its face when, as
provided by subdivision one of section 100.25, it substantially conforms
to the requirement therefor prescribed by or pursuant to law; provided
that when the filing of a supporting deposition is ordered by the court
pursuant to subdivision two of said section 100.25, a failure of the
complainant police officer or public servant to comply with such order
within the time provided by subdivision two of said section 100.25
renders the simplified information insufficient on its face.
  3. A prosecutor`s information, or a count thereof, is sufficient on
its face when it substantially conforms to the requirements prescribed
in section 100.35.
  4. A misdemeanor complaint or a felony complaint, or a count thereof,
is sufficient on its face when:
  (a) It substantially conforms to the requirements prescribed in
section 100.15; and
  (b) The allegations of the factual part of such accusatory instrument
and/or any supporting depositions which may accompany it, provide
reasonable cause to believe that the defendant committed the offense
charged in the accusatory part of such instrument.

S 100.45 Information, prosecutor`s information, misdemeanor complaint;
               severance, consolidation, amendment, bill of particulars.
  1.  Where appropriate, the provisions of sections 200.20 and 200.40,
governing severance of counts of an indictment and severance of
defendants for trial purposes, and governing consolidation of
indictments for trial purposes, apply to informations, to prosecutor`s
informations and to misdemeanor complaints.
  2.  The provisions of section 200.70 governing amendment of
indictments apply to prosecutor`s informations.
  3.  At any time before the entry of a plea of guilty to or the
commencement of a trial of an information, the court may, upon
application of the people and with notice to the defendant and
opportunity to be heard, order the amendment of the accusatory part of
such information by addition of a count charging an offense supported by
the allegations of the factual part of such information and/or any
supporting depositions which may accompany it.  In such case, the
defendant must be accorded any reasonable adjournment necessitated by
the amendment.
  4.  The provisions of section 200.95, governing bills of particulars
with respect to indictments, apply to informations, to misdemeanor
complaints and to prosecutor`s informations.

S 100.50 Superseding informations and prosecutor`s informations.
  1.  If at any time before entry of a plea of guilty to or commencement
of a trial of an information or a prosecutor`s information, another
information or, as the case may be, another prosecutor`s information is
filed with the same local criminal court charging the defendant with an
offense charged in the first instrument, the first such instrument is,
with respect to such offense, superseded by the second and, upon the
defendant`s arraignment upon the latter, the count of the first
instrument charging such offense must be dismissed by the court.  The
first instrument is not, however, superseded with respect to any count
contained therein which charges an offense not charged in the second
instrument.
  2.  At any time before entry of a plea of guilty to or commencement of
a trial of an information, the district attorney may file with the local
criminal court a prosecutor`s information charging any offenses
supported, pursuant to the standards prescribed in subdivision one of
section 100.40, by the allegations of the factual part of the original
information and/or any supporting depositions which may accompany it.
In such case, the original information is superseded by the prosecutor`s
information and, upon the defendant`s arraignment upon the latter, is
deemed dismissed.
  3.  A misdemeanor complaint must or may be replaced and superseded by
an information pursuant to the provisions of section 170.65.

S 100.55 Local criminal court accusatory instruments; in what courts filed.
  1.  Any local criminal court accusatory instrument may be filed with a
district court of a particular county when an offense charged therein
was allegedly committed in such county or that part thereof over which
such court has jurisdiction.
  2.  Any local criminal court accusatory instrument may be filed with
the New York City criminal court when an offense charged therein was
allegedly committed in New York City.
  3.  Any local criminal court accusatory instrument may be filed with a
city court of a particular city when an offense charged therein was
allegedly committed in such city.
  4.  An information, a simplified information, a prosecutor`s
information or a misdemeanor complaint may be filed with a town court of
a particular town when an offense charged therein was allegedly
committed anywhere in such town other than in a village thereof having a
village court.
  5.  An information, a simplified information, a prosecutor`s
information or a misdemeanor complaint may be filed with a village court
of a particular village when an offense charged therein was allegedly
committed in such village.
  6.  A felony complaint may be filed with any town court or village
court of a particular county when a felony charged therein was allegedly
committed in some town of such county.  Such court need not be that of
the town or village in which such felony was allegedly committed.
  7.  An information, a simplified information, a misdemeanor complaint
or a felony complaint may be filed with a judge of a superior court
sitting as a local criminal court when an offense charged therein was
allegedly committed in a county in which such judge is then present and
in which he either resides or is currently holding, or has been assigned
to hold, a term of a superior court.
  8.  Where it is otherwise expressly provided by law that a particular
kind of accusatory instrument may under given circumstances be filed
with a local criminal court other than one authorized by this section,
nothing contained in this section precludes the filing of such
accusatory instrument accordingly.
  9.  In any case where each of two or more local criminal courts is
authorized as a proper court with which to file an accusatory
instrument, such an instrument may, in the absence of an express
provision of law to the contrary, be filed with any one of such courts
but not with more than one.
  10.  For purposes of this section, an offense is "committed in" a
particular county, city, town, village or other specified political
subdivision or area, not only when it is in fact committed therein but
also when it is, for other reasons specified in sections 20.40 and
20.50, prosecutable in the criminal courts having geographical
jurisdiction over such political subdivision or area.

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